Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-12-10

not to say extravagant, aspect Of the subject.
But this much is undeniable; whatever
contributes facility in the requirement of
knowledge: whatever smooths the path of
difficulty in cultivating the intellect and
removes obstacles from the methods of
education, must contribute to intellectual
advancement and mental strength, and
consequently tend to lessen illiteracy.
That the spelling reformers are contrib
uting to these ends must be conceded by
all who dispassionately examine their
briefs.
If the educators and philologists and
photographers will break away from pre-
JUDGES and set adrift the old-time, arbitrary
and unreasonable rules, that this
order of letters must be 50 because
a vowel precedes, or that the other order Of
arrangement follows because a consonant
precedes, and the whole long list of
involved and dogmatic rules and So
called reasons that govern the present
spelling, they viii see, and eventually
confess that the aim and pur-
pose of spelling ought to be to
give that visible form to language which,
with least friction, trouble and mental ex-
ercise, will convey thought through the
medium of the eye to the mind. If they
dispassionately examine the question as
presented by such collegians as Whitney of
Yale, Muller of Oxford, White of Cornell,
Chadbourne of Williams, Barnard of CO.
lumbia, Harrison of Washington and Lee,
Child of Harvard, Sumner, Hadley and
Peck of Yale, and others of equal emf
nence, they must come to the conclusion
that not only the simplest, but the easiest
of all reforms offered to the world, is that
rendered by the advanced philologists of
America and England, and in the path Of
which the chief obstacle is stubborn preiu-
dice
As ex-President White Of Cornell Uni
versity puts it, our present system is q
barrier against the most important agent
ip the rapid civilization and Christianiza-
ton of the world. II have no doubt that
were English photography simplified, the
English language would within a genera
ton or two become the business language
of the more active part Of the vast semi
civilized East, of China, Japan, India, and
the islands of the Pacific"
The official organ of the Reform Spell
ing Association, published by the Boston
Library Bureau, in late number declares
that it has evidences that about all the
best educators Of the country, the indie
pendent thinkers and the best informed
men of our time are in accord with the re-
form. But if this is so, they woefully lack
courage to make their faith known One
of the most hopeful signs of the reform is
the fact that both the American and the
English Pathological Associations have
pronounced in favor of a simplifed but
radical change in spelling. They do not
go to the extent the more advanced re-
formers propose, believing that it is wiser
to advance by degrees in this matter. A
large number of Teachers Associations in
America and Great Britain have approved
the Pathological Societies proposed changes
in our system. and it begins to look as if
within the next five years there will be
not few learned bodies, schools and Jour
nails using the modified system in every
day writing. When this point is reached
it will not be long before the reform will
become popular and have general accept
ance.
1t is worthy of note that as the present
reform began in Pennsylvania, being an
outgrowth of the International Conven-
lion of 1876, presided over by Prof Halde-
man, so the first legislative action in this
country relative to a reform of spelling
was taken in Pennsylvania. The Legis-
lature of 1887 provided commission to
examine and report upon the question of
spelling and spelling reform in its relation
to public education. AS Governor Beaver
has chosen eminent philolo, SITS and edu-
Gators to compose the commission, we may
expect from them next year report that
will attract much attention, and will prob
ably lead to spelling reform being intro
duced into the common schools of that
State